Art lovers, I am afraid I have some bad news! I received an email from our favorite crochet artist, Olek and she’s been detained in London. She forwarded the following statement issued by her legal counsel in the UK:

Olek recently arrived in London in order to fulfill a variety of professional engagements; the first of which was to donate a piece of art work to a charitable organization. On October 6th after donating a piece of her art to the charity at a show in London, Olek was involved in an incident with a drunk and aggressive male who behaved reprehensibly.The incident happened extremely quickly and not knowing anyone in London or able to access her cell phone for numbers she was swept up into the legal system and treated very poorly. This has resulted in very serious charges being leveled against her which she strenuously denies. She has not even had the chance to state her case before a Court and she must await a statutory timetable before she can present her case properly.

She has now been fortunate enough to be referred on to an appropriate lawyer to defend her against these entirely false allegations, but effective legal representation in cases like this comes at a cost. Today, she needs your help to assist her to get through this terrible and unfair ordeal. At the moment she is facing serious charges with a risk of custody if she is not represented properly and able to expose the untruths and falsehoods in the allegations made against her.

Can you help?

What can you do to help? Olek has set up the website www.olekappeal.com to accept any charitable donations. If only every person who has ever enjoyed her art donates $1, Olek will be able to pay for these legal fees that she is faced with. To sweeten the pot, by donating money, you can get some limited edition art from Olek. Please spread the word and donate whatever you can, no matter how small.

We’re rooting for you Olek and we wish you a fast and speedy return to New York!